Fort Dix to Save $1.2M Annually with Solar, Energy Upgrades

by | Sep 4, 2009

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fortfixsolarHoneywell has installed two solar arrays at Fort Dix, N.J., together with a variety of energy-efficient facility and infrastructure upgrades, to help the training and mobilization center for the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard meet federal efficiency and renewable energy mandates.

Fort Dix expects an energy savings of $1.2 million annually over the next 20 years. The savings is based on the reduction of all utility bills — electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and water. Honeywell also expects that Fort Dix will have operational savings that will be tied to reduced maintenance needs and expenses that come with new equipment.

The Fort Dix installation is considered one of the largest solar projects for the army with 3,200 photovoltaic panels. The arrays will generate approximately 815,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power more than 75 homes per year, according to Honeywell. The installation will also decrease greenhouse gas emissions by more than 33 million pounds per year.

The arrays are mounted on the roofs of the Army Reserve 99th Regional Support Command Headquarters and the post’s Strategic Deployment Site Building, a temperature-controlled warehouse for equipment storage. The panels will produce enough energy to meet nearly all the electricity needs of both facilities, with excess power distributed back onto the grid.

The solar installations are part of a $17.6 million program that will decrease energy consumption at the post by almost 10 percent and water use by more than 5 percent.

In addition to the solar panels, Honeywell installed controls to increase the efficiency of natural gas boilers at more than 80 facilities, and replaced nine aging boilers at the Visiting Officers’ Quarters (VOQ) and Doughboy Inn with heat pumps and occupancy sensors in each room to reduce the use of heating and air-conditioning equipment.

Other retrofits included lighting upgrades, and expanding the post’s energy monitoring and control system. Honeywell also modified the irrigation system at the golf course to use treated water from the post’s wastewater facility, which is expected to reduce annual water consumption by 29 million gallons.

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